A History of Fine Food & Service

On a frosty February night in 1972, the bustling streets of Detroit Michigan welcomed the Greek immigrant, Kyriakos Kyriakou to America. As Kyriakos adjusted to the sights and sounds of the Motor city, he also adjusted to his new American name, Charlie. The city of Detroit and his Uncle’s Lafayette Coney Island Restaurant would be his new home for the next several years. It was there that Charlie committed himself to hard work, learned the restaurant business and developed his American dream, owning his own restaurant.

An advertisement in a local newspaper in 1971 announcing the opening of Southwyck Mall drew Charlie’s attention to Toledo, Ohio and led to the opening of his first restaurant, Southwyck Coney Island. While Southwyck mall started drawing people from miles around, Charlie’s first restaurant began attracting people with its successful ingredience of fast, friendly service and quality fresh food. Toledoans embraced Charlie’s commitment to his customers and appreciated the delicious food he served, a tradition he established and continues today.

In the late 1970′s and early 1980′s, with the expanding city of Toledo, Charlie’s restaurant locations and menu expanded not only to include Coney Island style food but also traditional Greek food created with his wife’s authentic Greek recipes. The daily ground hamburger and secret chili sauce smothering Charlie’s hot dogs continued to be popular with customers. However Charlie’s Greek salad that often accompanied his homemade mousaka, pastitio, or spinach pie began to equal in popularity, not to be out ordered by his Greek baklava and rice pudding desserts. The expansion of his menu, transitioned Charlie’s operations into full-service restaurants where Toledoans gathered with their family and friends to enjoy breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Throughout the years, Charlie’s six restaurant locations, have strived to provide a friendly atmosphere, quality fresh food and fast service to customers dining in and driving-thru. Charlie’s American Dream could not have materialized without his high standard of quality that continues to be a driving force behind his restaurants today and for the time to come.